Category Archives: Society

I almost fell out of my chair last night when I saw this. After all this time with virtually no talk about the seafloor and officials not even mentioning the existence of a mud log, the integrity of the casing and seafloor is an issue. Three months later, the “spill” is now a volcano. Was it a slip, or has the media finally been given the OK to start gradually leaking bits and pieces of information that illustrates the true gravity of the situation?

Even James Carville, seemingly out there demanding answers, has failed to ask the right questions. The landing page for his website boasts, “The man who has devised the most dramatic political victories of our generation”. That is neither here nor there, just interesting.

When will people be fed up with being feed vital information about their world?

More importantly, what can be done about it?

To answer the first question, I fear never. So complacent are the masses with modern conveniences that they can’t see beyond the end of their collective nose. I’m not so sure they can be blamed, we have all been lulled into a dreamstate where virtual worlds are the new reality and real life is a nuisance to be escaped. Paint colors are now “virtual”, we don’t talk to our loved ones, we text or Facebook them. Something can’t be true unless spewed out on the nightly news – the place where you are least likely to find truth.

The second question is more difficult. Sadly, I don’t think much can be done about it. Alternate news sources and discussion boards are great, and we should support that. But, beyond that I think we just need to be more aware. As I learned in Film School, be an active observer. Think about what you are being told. Don’t believe everything you are told. Remember history and all it’s lessons about government and human nature.

I will give Anderson Cooper a bit of credit, just a little. We can argue all day about the integrity of journalism today, but at least he is reporting nightly form the area. It was actually an anomaly that I saw the beginning of the program last night-I need to have a few news-free hours before bedtime or I’ll never sleep.

This is a great article on mind control techniques used in the mass media, nice companion piece to the previous post.

“Impersonal forces over which we have almost no control seem to be pushing us all in the direction of the Brave New Worldian nightmare; and this impersonal pushing is being consciously accelerated by representatives of commercial and political organizations who have developed a number of new techniques for manipulating, in the interest of some minority, the thoughts and feelings of the masses.”
– Aldous Huxley, Preface to A Brave New World

In the 1958 preface for A Brave New World, Aldous Huxley paints a rather grim portrait of society. He believes it is controlled by an “impersonal force”, a ruling elite, which manipulates the population using various methods. His bleak outlook is not a simple hypothesis or a paranoid delusion. It is a documented fact, present in the world’s most important studies on mass media. Here are some of them: read more…

Note: This is an amazing article by Chris Hedges for Adbusters. This really sums it up, maybe someday I will be eloquent enough to produce a piece like this.

The United States, locked in the kind of twilight disconnect that grips dying empires, is a country entranced by illusions. It spends its emotional and intellectual energy on the trivial and the absurd. It is captivated by the hollow stagecraft of celebrity culture as the walls crumble. This celebrity culture giddily licenses a dark voyeurism into other people’s humiliation, pain, weakness and betrayal. Day after day, one lurid saga after another, whether it is Michael Jackson, Britney Spears or John Edwards, enthralls the country … despite bank collapses, wars, mounting poverty or the criminality of its financial class.

What’s wrong with the current oil spill situation? I’m not talking about the fact that it happened-or the sweeping devastation-or the response by BP-all valid but not where I want to go with this. What I want to discuss is the displaced aggression toward BP. You read right. I suppose it’s natural, but do protesters really believe that they will make an impact on a goliath corporate entity? If they continue to lose money, they will just file bankruptcy and be protected from their creditors-including the US government and business owners seeking restitution. Or maybe the US will just take it over adding an oil company to their car companies and banks.

Maybe the anger would be better directed at the Federal Government and its first delayed, now inadequate response.

The blast occurred 20 April and it took until 27 April for Salazar and Napolitano to call for an expanded investigation and for Obama Administration official to meet with officials from BP. A WEEK! It’s outrageous for the Federal Government to spend one full week going about their business, relying on BP for estimates of the leakage. BP, a company with a horrendous safety record operating with virtually no environmental safeguards.

Many of the Top Mineral Management Officials are holdovers from the Bush years. Most of the regulations-oil industry friendly-had been left in place from the Bush years. The MMS and NOAA are relying on BP for spill estimates. The Government declines offers of help from 14 countries, presumably because of the Jones Act of 1920 designed to support the US Merchant Marine Industry. Wouldn’t it have been well worth it to issue a waiver to suspend the act in the case of this environmental emergency? update:whether or not this was the original reason for refusal, they have now decided to accept help – over 2 months later!

Oil rigs today generally don’t cause Spills. Barack Obama

Three weeks prior, Obama had called for expanded drilling off the Southeast Atlantic coast. This also included drilling new areas in the Eastern Gulf, closer than ever to the Florida coast. I have no intention of taking a stance on offshore drilling. Many are using this as a platform to push for alternative energy and there is nothing wrong with that. The issue I have is the polarity of views-either all or nothing. The American Way I suppose. What about a more realistic approach? Its wishful thinking to believe the US will ever dramatically reduce its need or use of oil; too much money is at stake.

Too many people with way too much power are in control. What we can push for is stringent guidelines and safeguards to protect human life and natural habitats; government regulations that exist and more importantly, are enforced.

What is it about the general public that still feels it lives in a world where their government or more outrageously, commerce and corporations tell the truth? History has repeatedly shown the contrary. Why aren’t we demanding truth and proof of truth? It could be the decades of having corporate ideals drilled into our conscience, seemingly dictating every minutia of our lives. Now, so unstoppable we are lost without our electronic pacifiers; our iPhone, our Droid continually infiltrating our conscience, overloading our brains with unimportant details, making it nearly impossible for anything of substance to stand a chance.

BP is really just doing its job. It’s out there, fucking shit up for thousands of people, ruining unique habitats and getting away with it.

We as the American People have as much or more blood on our hands than anyone else. We continue to vote for (or not vote period) the criminal, corporate takeover of our country. But really, does that matter? Who truly, really believes their vote is counted or tallied up? We are taught that, hell until 2000 it even seemed like the People had a voice. But I do not see how anyone can think that their vote is taken seriously. Or at least not have a little nagging feeling that it is possible that many of the candidates and the voting process itself is a sham?

Apparently us Americans have more important things to do and will continue to allow corporate interests to dictate our life and liberty.